Kyousuke is the older brother to the seemingly perfect Kirino. She is a model student, as well as an actual model! Despite her star student persona, Kirino harbors a shameful secret. She's an otaku and a perverted one at that. Her brother knows nothing of this world but in order to help his sheltered sister, Kyousuke allows Kirino to teach him. The siblings meet other eccentric nerdy fans who feel no need to hide their passions. While these interests put Kirino and Kyousuke at odds with others, the two find themselves growing ever closer.

For fans of otaku culture, the premise of this show can seem very relatable. Perhaps not all of your friends and family support your dakimakura (body pillow) with your precious 2-D wife being at the dinner table. Kirino and Kyousuke have an unconventional relationship you tend to question throughout the whole anime, though not as immediately as Masamune and Sagiri’s relationship in Eromanga-sensei. OreImo is very funny and gives an outsider’s view into anime culture with a colorful cast.

Onodera Ritsu is the son of an extremely accomplished literary editor, which means no matter how good his work, he will always be looked down upon for having connections. Determined to show those that doubt him that he can be successful in any editing firm, he transfers to Marukawa Publishing and tries his hand and editing manga. As if the completely new style weren’t enough, Ritsu’s demanding and condescending boss is none other than Takano Masamune, Ritsu’s first love from high school! The idea of having to rely on the man who broke his heart is nearly unbearable. As prideful as Ritsu is, though, failure is not an option. Working on a romance manga with such complicated emotions will be tough, and Takano’s constant advances aren’t helping!

Featuring another romantic couple in the industry, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi follows the everyday lives of two people who use to be really close and surprisingly end up working together. While not growing up in the same house, it is reminiscent of the dynamic that Sagiri and Masamune share in that they were close and then a traumatic experience pushed them apart, yet they ended up being co-workers! Takano (who goes by his last name, usually) shares a first name with Masamune, so that’s another similarity! If you’re a fan of complicated relationships and the manga/light novel/gaming industry, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi is a great choice.

Tomoya is a huge otaku and dating sim enthusiast. One day, he gets it in his head, despite not having much talent or experience, that he wants to create a dating sim himself. Inspired by a cute girl named Megumi he meets by chance, Tomoya decides to model his main character after her and use the artistic skills of Eriri and the accomplished light novel writer Utaha to complete his doujin circle. To everyone's horror, Megumi is more like a background character than a main heroine, but no amount of realism can squash Tomoya’s determination.

While no one character matches the dynamic of siblings Masamune and Sagiri, we have both elements of the girl who does lewd drawings and is well versed in pervy stuff with 0 experience of her own who hates most real people AND the too-close-for-comfort female family member who loves/hates her male family member. In Saekano, the team tries to create a worthy dating sim but we still see the same necessary components from Eromanga-sensei such as plot, writers, and artists. This show also gives a look at the production and marketing of nerd goods and has a host of beautiful females who are very passionate about their craft. There are even fights over the desired artist in order to come out with the best work! For another harem style comedy, Saekano absolutely delivers.

Umaru is the epitome of the perfect ideal student. She excels in studies and sports and is a total babe to boot. Kind to all, she’s immensely popular at school. However, once she returns home her façade is dropped and she transforms into a whiny selfish girl who heavily relies on her older brother Taihei to do things like buy her cola and pass her chips. Content to spend every free moment indulging in games and watching her favorite anime, Umaru is far from a productive citizen and is quite the burden on her patient older brother. Because they don’t have parents to look out for them, Taihei begrudgingly indulges Umaru in all her otaku endeavors as well as doing all the chores in the house. With new demands to meet every day, Taihei’s life with Umaru is far from boring.

Umaru-chan is a super fun show especially for those who are obsessed with anime and gaming. The idea of having a caretaker who will cook and clean for you so every spare moment can be spent on fulfilling your desires is extremely desirable, and we get to live that through Umaru. Her ability to go from class idol to teen slob is also somewhat encouraging because it shows a character who is an otaku but who is capable of a lot of admirable things, a concept not often associated with otaku. The brother-sister relationship is devoid of any notions of romance or conveniently placed ecchi, so for those interested in innocent familial relationships, rest assured you are safe.

Buntaro is a kind and happy go lucky guy but lacks conviction when it comes to the directions he wants to take his life. He’s a talented writer, but sees little opportunity to do more than while away the time. His quiet classmate, Sayuki, sees the potential for something greater and enlists his help in creating her ideal bishoujo (beautiful girl) game. Deciding that the outside world is a wasteland and happiness can be found in the 2D world, she wants to follow in her older brother's footsteps and create a meaningful game; and thus recruits many gifted, though somewhat aimless, talents to bring this dream to life.

Sayuki shares some similarities with Sagiri in that they both enjoy their solitude and while they dislike most people, they care deeply about other anime and visual novel fans. They want to do what they want to do and don’t wish to follow society’s model of success. Both Buntarou and Masamune are talented and well-liked especially compared to the girls. Instead of a graphic novel, the team works on a bishoujo game but in both shows, these endeavors are seen as a way of life that will carry into the future. There’s a little less ecchi and a little more of a serious tone in Shoujo-tachi but they don’t disappoint when it comes to the inclusion of pretty, geeky girls for the main characters.

Aoba has longed dreamt of joining a game company where she can help give to people the same joy she felt when playing her favorite game series growing up. When she lands a job at the company that makes the very series that inspired her, Fairies Story, she’s shocked at her good fortune. She even gets to work on the newest game in the series! Unbelievably, all of her co-workers are pretty women with a great passion for their work. Surrounded by people so similar and yet so different in personality to Aoba, keeps each day exciting and fun as she learns just what it takes to create a video game that can move people.

Another anime about creation, New Game! features an all-female cast and their journey to create something loved by their fans. Aside from Aoba, everyone else is already well versed in their roles and knows what they’re doing, like our cast in Eromanga-sensei. Aside from seeing how these girls get along with each other and learn to understand each other, we get to see how a video game is made from the ground up and all the different components that go into its success. If you’re a fan of manga/light novel/game creation and aren’t dependent on the ecchi you see in Eromanga-sensei, New Game is a super cute and fun show!